The Rag Blog: Step One: Negotiate

24 January 2007

Step One: Negotiate

Prominent Iraqi tribal leader says a truce between U.S. and insurgents is possible
The Associated Press
Published: January 23, 2007

AMMAN, Jordan: A truce between insurgents and the U.S. forces in Iraq is possible if the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad is dismissed and new elections are held, a prominent Sunni tribal leader said Tuesday.

Until a truce is agreed, insurgent attacks on U.S. troops will continue and even escalate in line with instructions from Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam Hussein's deputy and perceived successor, said Sheik Majeed al-Gaood, a tribal leader in Anbar province, the heartland of the insurgency.

"Mr. al-Douri's instructions came in a handwritten letter weeks before President Saddam was martyred," al-Gaood told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his house in Amman, Jordan's capital. "He demanded escalated attacks against certain targets, not civilians," he said.

"The targets are U.S. occupation forces and the military affiliated with the traitor government in Baghdad."

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